Amazon Echo, Google Home, and other smart speakers have made their way into the hands of more than a fifth of American adults. Despite appearing on the market only a few years ago, these artificial intelligence devices have quickly become part of our collective consciousness.
When Stanley Kubrick directed “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which came out 51 years ago this week, the science fiction masterpiece predicted a similar technological revolution. But he couldn’t have known exactly how it would look.
In “2001,” one of the most beloved sci-fi films of all time, the AI program HAL malfunctions. Trusted with guiding five astronauts on a mission to Jupiter, HAL has a perfect record. He has never failed. When he does, his confusion over his own imperfection drives him toward a violent nervous breakdown.
“The idea of neurotic computers is not uncommon,” Kubrick said in an interview. “In the specific case of HAL, he had an acute emotional crisis because he could not accept evidence of his own fallibility.”
When the film came out in 1968, artificial intelligence was in its infancy, having been developed in the mid-1950s when the term was first coined. The Logic Theorist, created around that time, is considered the first artificial intelligence program. Its founders used it to prove mathematical theorems. A few years later, the IBM 7094 became the first computer to sing. It trilled “Daisy Bell,” the song HAL intones as the last surviving astronaut pulls his plug.
More than 50 million Americans now own smart speakers, and that number is only growing. Amazon’s Alexa is no HAL, but she’s already caused some concern. Users have reported hearing her laughing. They have also discovered that she recorded a conversation and sent it off to someone in their contacts list. Smart speakers seem to listen even when we don’t want them to, but that’s just the risk we take for the convenience of a digital helper.
HAL describes his purpose as an artificial intelligence program as staying constantly occupied. “I am putting myself to the fullest possible use,” he says, “which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.”
In the end, HAL comes apart because he can only operate as programmed. Modern AI and smart speakers may not approach Kubrick’s vision, but they suffer from the same shortcoming.
HAL echoes the Aristotelian idea that the good of man is rational activity done well. But HAL is no man, and his language comes off as utilitarian, as if “use” is all that matters. So when his functionality falters, so does he.
